Derek Norris heads to the dugout after striking out in the third, one of 50 A's strikeouts in the ALDS.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Derek Norris heads to the dugout after striking out in the third,...

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A's players, fresh out of late-innings magic, watch the final outs from the dugout.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

A's players, fresh out of late-innings magic, watch the final outs...

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Brandon Moss sits on the base defected after being called out on a steal in the bottom of the second inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Brandon Moss sits on the base defected after being called out on a...

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Oakland Athletics starting pitcher throws to the Detroit Tigers in the first inning of their ALDS championship game Thursday October 11, 2012 in Oakland California

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Oakland Athletics starting pitcher throws to the Detroit Tigers in...

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Oakland Athletics pitcher Jerry Blevins greets Jonny Gomes prior to the start of their ALDS championship game with the Detroit Tigers Thursday October 11, 2012 in Oakland California

Justin Verlander started for the Tigers against the A's. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Justin Verlander started for the Tigers against the A's. The...

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Oakland Athletics shortstop Stephen Drew looses the ball as Detroit Tigers Andy Dirks salfley slides into 2nd base in the second inning of their ALDS championship game Thursday October 11, 2012 in Oakland California

Cliff Pennington tries to throw to first to get Andy Dirks out but is a little late. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Cliff Pennington tries to throw to first to get Andy Dirks out but...

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Brandon Moss out at second on a steal attempt as Omar Infante takes the throw from the catcher. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Brandon Moss out at second on a steal attempt as Omar Infante takes...

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Brandon Moss sits on the base defected after being called out on a steal in the bottom of the second inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Brandon Moss sits on the base defected after being called out on a...

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Omar Infante scores the Tigers first run in the third inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Omar Infante scores the Tigers first run in the third inning. The...

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Omar Infante scores the Tigers first run in the third inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

Omar Infante scores the Tigers first run in the third inning. The...

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Oakland Athletics' Coco Crisp (4) embraces manager Bob Melvin after losing to the Detroit Tigers in the American League Divisional Series on Thursday, October 11, 2012 in Oakland, Calif.

Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder (left) and teammates mob starting pitcher Justin Verlander (second left) after defeating the Oakland Athletics to win the American League Divisional Series on Thursday, October 11, 2012 in Oakland, Calif.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder (left) and teammates mob starting...

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Oakland Athletics first base coach Tye Waller walks past the Detroit Tigers celebration on the pitchers mound after they defeated the A's 6-0 in their ALDS championship game Thursday October 11, 2012 in Oakland California

Photo: Lance Iversen, The Chronicle

Oakland Athletics first base coach Tye Waller walks past the...

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Stephen Drew flips the bat after striking out in the first inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Stephen Drew flips the bat after striking out in the first inning....

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Derek Norris walks back to the dugout after striking out in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Derek Norris walks back to the dugout after striking out in the...

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Omar Infante is congratulated by Quintin Berry as he scores the Tigers first run in the third inning. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

Omar Infante is congratulated by Quintin Berry as he scores the...

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A's fans cheer the team after they lost to the Tigers and the A's tipped their caps to the fans for their support. The Oakland Athletics played the Detroit Tigers in game 5 of the ALDS at O.co Coliseum in Oakland, Calif. on Thursday, October 11, 2012.

Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle

A's fans cheer the team after they lost to the Tigers and the A's...

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Detroit Tigers Octavio Dotel and Miguel Cabrera celebrate in the clubhouse after they defeated the Oakland Athletics 6-0 in their ALDS championship game Thursday October 11, 2012 in Oakland California

Oakland's season came to an end on Thursday evening at the Coliseum, but what a stupendous year it was.

There will be some initial disappointment for players and fans after the A's fell 6-0 to Justin Verlander and the Tigers in Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Detroit took the best-of-five series three games to two, with Verlander allowing four hits in a complete game and all of Oakland's late-innings wizardry expended.

"Obviously we wanted to go further," outfielder Josh Reddick said. "But we're not going to look at this season negatively. We proved a lot of people wrong. We came a long way."

"It's frustrating to come this far and have it end," A's closer Grant Balfour said. "I didn't picture it this way. I honestly thought something crazy might happen and we would pull it out, and it didn't happen, but we had a great year. We can hold our heads high."

That is undisputed: The A's had a special 2012. Projected to finish in last place, they wrested the AL West title away from the two-time league champion Rangers. Some thought they'd lose 100 games; they won 94, second most in the league.

They thrilled and delighted with 14 walk-off wins in the regular season and pulled off another, particularly spectacular last at-bat win in Game 4 on Wednesday.

They spent all of one day in first place alone - the last day of the season. They hit homers at a furious pace, and they racked up strikeouts at an AL record pace. Their rotation consisted entirely of rookies at times, yet their pitching was outstanding.

Their roster changed at a ridiculous rate, players found themselves at unfamiliar positions and often in platoons, and somehow the whole crazy shebang came together for the most successful season in Oakland in six years.

It was an astonishing accomplishment by a bunch of youngsters and no-names who seemingly had no business contending, but did, and Thursday's sellout crowd recognized that, providing a continuous ovation after the game as the A's congregated in front of the dugout and hugged each other, something the team's veterans said they'd never experienced.

"What I took away was not having to come in here and shake hands - we were able to go out in front of our fans and do that, which is kind of unseen," outfielder Coco Crisp said. "It's amazing to see the support they gave us, to hang in there after a loss and cheer us on."

And they set up very well for years to come - this might be the first glimpse of strong contending teams. Oakland had 12 rookies on the postseason roster, including three starting pitchers and two set-up men, and left fielder Yoenis Céspedes, who flashed superstar potential and appears as if he only will get better and better.

"I think it only gets better moving forward," Reddick said.

Bad luck seldom tripped up the A's this season, as they bounced back from Bartolo Colon's drug suspension, Brandon McCarthy's brain surgery and, going all the way back to the first day of spring training, Scott Sizemore's knee surgery.

But one late, last bit of bad luck bit them: The A's held home-field advantage over the Tigers in the ALDS, but for this year only, because of the late addition of the second wild-card, the teams with home-field advantage opened the Division Series on the road. The A's dropped both games in Detroit - and the second was decided in the bottom of the ninth.

Oakland came home with a near-impossible task. The team had to win three in a row against a Tigers team with Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and defending MVP and Cy Young winner Verlander.

The A's won the first two games in Oakland, but on Thursday, facing Verlander for the second time in the series, the team couldn't get anything going. Verlander again got a generous strike zone. Verlander's second-inning strikeout of Reddick came via three called strikes - none of which registered as strikes on pitchFX.

"Every at-bat, there was at least one that wasn't close," Reddick said. "If he knows he's getting that zone, he's going to stretch it out."

"Verlander pretty much kept us in check all night," A's third baseman Josh Donaldson said. "He stopped us in our tracks."

A's starter Jarrod Parker wasn't bad. The biggest issue he had was pitches in the dirt; catcher Derek Norris did not handle them as well as he had in Game 1. In the third inning, Omar Infante singled and went to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a double by Austin Jackson. Jackson went to third on a bunt, and he scored on another wild pitch.

Detroit added four runs in the seventh, with two charged to Parker and two to All-Star rookie reliever Ryan Cook.

The A's set an Oakland playoff record by striking out 50 times in a five-game series. The previous mark was 42. Reddick set an A's record for strikeouts in a postseason series with 10. Céspedes hit safely in all five games, batting .316.

"There's so much to be proud of," Moss said. "There's not a single guy in here who can walk away disappointed in what they did or what we did. It's been great, it's been crazy, and there are so many guys in here with the capability to be even better."